Referendum initiative submits two questions to Constitutional Court

The “Pro Referendum” civic initiative submitted two referendum questions to the Constitutional Court on Monday for evaluation, which it intends to raise – that signatures for referendums can be collected at any appropriate place, as is the case now, and that referendums can be called if requested by 200,000 voters or five percent of all registered voters and not 10% as is the case now.

Initiative coordinator Zeljko Stipic told reporters outside the courthouse that the initiative has decided to ask the Constitutional Court to assess the questions before it starts collecting signatures and that it expected the court to do so by May 29.

Unionist Vilim Ribic recalled that the initiative had earlier filed a complaint against the Constitutional Court at the court itself because it had ruled against referendums on the lease of motorways and the outsourcing of non-core public sector activities.

“We knew that would not pass but we did that in protest and as a sign of bitterness to show that their decisions are tendentious, biased, incompetent, sloppy, superficial and irresponsible” because they “undermined the dignity of Croatia’s society and state,” he said.

Stipic said the initiative would start collecting signatures on Saturday to protect the institute of the referendum.

Asked by the press if an agreement with the government and scrapping the petition was possible until then, he said they were willing to begin dialogue by Friday.

Ribic said “the chances for dialogue are good” because the initiative raised questions that incumbent Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic pushed for in parliament in 2010.